Historical Fiction

This post is a brief genre spotlight on an extremely broad genre of literature, so this really doesn't cover it all. If anyone asked me what my favourite genre to read is, I’d probably have to say historical fiction. It includes such a huge range of writing so you can really find your niche.

Here’s an array of some different branches of historical fiction - WWII is one of my favourite periods of history to read about as I find it fascinating. Some recommendations from me if you also enjoy it are The Volunteer by Jack Fairweather and The Choice by Edith Eger. I have read the bestsellers such as The Tattooist if Auschwitz/ The Librarian of Auschwitz which I did enjoy, but I prefer the memoirs written by real survivors. Kate Atkinson’s A God in Ruins is a work of fiction but covers the extensive history of one man and his family, and his experiences as a fighter pilot in WWII, so I highly enjoyed this one too (review a few posts back).

Another branch of historical fiction I enjoy and would like to explore more is rewritings of Greek mythology. Madeline Miller’s A Song of Achilles and Circe are both brilliant, and I’ve got Natalie Haynes’ A Thousand Ships on my to-read list as soon as I can get my hands on it, which is a re-telling of the Trojan War from an all-female perspective. I’ve been building up to reading both The Odyssey and The Iliad which are sitting on my shelf (I’m a little intimidated!).

I needn’t say much about Where the Crawdads Sing except that it has been one of my favourite reads of 2020 and is set in the 1960s (review was posted back in January). The Poisonwood Bible is on my shelf waiting to be read imminently, and is set in the heart of the African jungle in 1959 so I’m also super excited about that one!

Not pictured here but also amongst my historical fiction favourites (and all with the theme of London) are both of Stacey Halls’ novels (need I rave on about these more than I already have), The Familiars and The Foundling as well as both Diane Setterfield’s Once Upon a River (19th century London) and Sonia Velton’s Blackberry and Wild Rose (18th century London). You can find reviews of all of these novels on my blog.